Vietnam has well implemented the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) for peace, stability and cooperation in the region.
The statement was made by Ambassador Le Hoai Trung, head of the Vietnamese Permanent Mission to the UN at the General Debate of the 67 th General Assembly Session on Agenda Item 75 “Oceans and Law of the Sea” in New York on December 12.
“Right after the UNCLOS was adopted, Vietnam was among the 107 states signing the Convention on 30 April 1982. Since its ratification of the UNCLOS in 1994, Vietnam has made hard efforts to implement the Convention as shown in the Report on Vietnam's Implementation of the UNCLOS which was submitted to the Secretary General for circulation as an official document of the 67th session of the General Assembly under Agenda Items 75 (a) (Oceans and the law of the sea),” he said.
Furthermore, in line with the provisions of the UNCLOS and related State practices, Vietnam adopted in June 2012 the Law of the Sea of Vietnam.
“This is a significant legislative effort to harmonize the provisions of the UNCLOS into our national law, contributing to the improvement of the national legal framework relating to the sea and islands of Vietnam ,” Trung affirmed.
The Law of the Sea of Vietnam provides fundamental legal basis for Vietnam in the uses, management and protection of marine areas and resources, he added.
The ambassador said that as a country with 3,260km of coastline facing the East Sea, Vietnam cares so dearly for the maintenance of peace and stability, including the maritime security, and promotion of prosperity and friendly cooperation in accordance with international law, in particular the UNCLOS, in the East Sea.
Vietnam takes this opportunity to call on all the signatory states to fully implement and other States to support the implementation of the 2002 ASEAN-China Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and the 2012 Statement of ASEAN Foreign Ministers on ASEAN's Six-Point Principles on the East Sea , he noted.
Trung stressed that Vietnam stands ready to work toward an early conclusion of a code of conducts in the East Sea with a view to further promoting peace, stability and cooperation in the region.
According to the diplomat, in full acknowledgement of the critical role of the oceans and seas in providing global food security and sustaining economic prosperity and the well-being of many nations in the world, Vietnam supports the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to continue giving due attention to promote sustainable uses and development of the oceans, seas and their resources.
He said that Vietnam appreciates the outcome of the hard work delivered in the past year by the mechanisms established by the UNGA in this respect and encourages the General Assembly to consider and endorse the recommendations made by the 5 th meeting of the Ad hoc Open-ended Informal Working Group to study issues relating to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (Document A/67/95), the 13 th meeting of the United Nations Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea (Document A/67/120) and the 3 rd meeting of the Ad hoc Working Group of the Whole on the Regular Process for Global Reporting and Assessment of the State of the Marine Environment, including Socio-economic Aspects (Document A/67/87).
“We also note with appreciation the achievements of the bodies established by the UNCLOS, including the International Seabed Authority, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf,” he stressed.
Trung went on to say that the UNCLOS embodies the aspiration of the international community for a just international legal order in the oceans and has received almost universal acceptance.
He said that the "Constitution for the Oceans", as it has been aptly termed, sets out a comprehensive legal framework within which all activities in the oceans and seas must be carried out and constitutes the principal basis for the maintenance of peace and stability, promotion of maritime economic development and the rational exploitation and conservation of marine natural resources and environment in all maritime areas under or beyond national jurisdiction.
In addition, the UNCLOS sets up a new mechanism of dispute settlement which offers the state parties additional important means of peaceful solution to their disputes, he said, adding that it provides a fine balance of rights and duties of states parties.-VNA
The statement was made by Ambassador Le Hoai Trung, head of the Vietnamese Permanent Mission to the UN at the General Debate of the 67 th General Assembly Session on Agenda Item 75 “Oceans and Law of the Sea” in New York on December 12.
“Right after the UNCLOS was adopted, Vietnam was among the 107 states signing the Convention on 30 April 1982. Since its ratification of the UNCLOS in 1994, Vietnam has made hard efforts to implement the Convention as shown in the Report on Vietnam's Implementation of the UNCLOS which was submitted to the Secretary General for circulation as an official document of the 67th session of the General Assembly under Agenda Items 75 (a) (Oceans and the law of the sea),” he said.
Furthermore, in line with the provisions of the UNCLOS and related State practices, Vietnam adopted in June 2012 the Law of the Sea of Vietnam.
“This is a significant legislative effort to harmonize the provisions of the UNCLOS into our national law, contributing to the improvement of the national legal framework relating to the sea and islands of Vietnam ,” Trung affirmed.
The Law of the Sea of Vietnam provides fundamental legal basis for Vietnam in the uses, management and protection of marine areas and resources, he added.
The ambassador said that as a country with 3,260km of coastline facing the East Sea, Vietnam cares so dearly for the maintenance of peace and stability, including the maritime security, and promotion of prosperity and friendly cooperation in accordance with international law, in particular the UNCLOS, in the East Sea.
Vietnam takes this opportunity to call on all the signatory states to fully implement and other States to support the implementation of the 2002 ASEAN-China Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and the 2012 Statement of ASEAN Foreign Ministers on ASEAN's Six-Point Principles on the East Sea , he noted.
Trung stressed that Vietnam stands ready to work toward an early conclusion of a code of conducts in the East Sea with a view to further promoting peace, stability and cooperation in the region.
According to the diplomat, in full acknowledgement of the critical role of the oceans and seas in providing global food security and sustaining economic prosperity and the well-being of many nations in the world, Vietnam supports the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to continue giving due attention to promote sustainable uses and development of the oceans, seas and their resources.
He said that Vietnam appreciates the outcome of the hard work delivered in the past year by the mechanisms established by the UNGA in this respect and encourages the General Assembly to consider and endorse the recommendations made by the 5 th meeting of the Ad hoc Open-ended Informal Working Group to study issues relating to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (Document A/67/95), the 13 th meeting of the United Nations Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea (Document A/67/120) and the 3 rd meeting of the Ad hoc Working Group of the Whole on the Regular Process for Global Reporting and Assessment of the State of the Marine Environment, including Socio-economic Aspects (Document A/67/87).
“We also note with appreciation the achievements of the bodies established by the UNCLOS, including the International Seabed Authority, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf,” he stressed.
Trung went on to say that the UNCLOS embodies the aspiration of the international community for a just international legal order in the oceans and has received almost universal acceptance.
He said that the "Constitution for the Oceans", as it has been aptly termed, sets out a comprehensive legal framework within which all activities in the oceans and seas must be carried out and constitutes the principal basis for the maintenance of peace and stability, promotion of maritime economic development and the rational exploitation and conservation of marine natural resources and environment in all maritime areas under or beyond national jurisdiction.
In addition, the UNCLOS sets up a new mechanism of dispute settlement which offers the state parties additional important means of peaceful solution to their disputes, he said, adding that it provides a fine balance of rights and duties of states parties.-VNA
